John 20:29 Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have trusted. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet trust.”

John 20:30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.

John 20:31 But these are written so that you may trust that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by trusting you may have life in his name.

solidified trust

Seeing the resurrected Christ was all Thomas needed to solidify his trust. The same was true for the other disciples who had seen him the previous week. The outcome of that trust is one of the major themes of John’s Gospel: “life in his name.” Elsewhere, John called it “a resurrection of life”,1 “the resurrection and the life”,2 “permanent life”3 or simply “life.”4 It is the promise of a permanent life after this one, made possible by a resurrection.

Seeing the resurrected Christ enabled the disciples to trust in the promise of their own resurrection. The one who overcame death is the one who will overcome death for them… and us.

Lord, we have seen what is written and we choose to trust it, and you – to give us permanent life.